The good news? In just one week you can, however, set the stage for some pretty serious gains. “Generally, someone who's already at a high level of fitness and bulked out will find it hard to put on 0.5 to 1.5 pounds of muscle a week.
Nutrition: The Foundation of Bulking
Caloric Surplus: You want to eat in a caloric surplus to bulk up in 7 days. This means consuming more calories than your body burns. Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and add 500-1000 calories per day to it. This extra energy will fuel muscle growth.
Significant strength gains within just one week are unlikely. While short-term improvements in strength might occur due to factors like better technique, neural adaptations, and increased motivation, substantial muscle growth typically takes weeks to months of consistent training.
The 6-12-25 Protocol is a powerhouse training protocol that harnesses the intensity of giant sets to pack high-volume work into a short period. By targeting one muscle group or body part per set, this method takes you through three different exercises with minimal rest, hitting 6, 12, and 25 reps in quick succession.
Typically, the muscles in the lower body, such as the quadriceps and hamstrings, tend to grow faster due to their size and the heavy loads they can handle. Additionally, the chest (pectorals) and back muscles (latissimus dorsi) often show noticeable growth relatively quickly with proper training.
The lats tend to be one of the hardest muscles to develop.
In 2016 a study at McMaster University in Ontario, USA found that lifting relatively light weights (about 50% of your one-rep max) for about 20–25 reps is just as efficient at building both strength and muscle size as lifting heavier weights (up to 90% of one-rep max) for 8-12 reps.
"Muscle pump" is really just fitness slang for a phenomenon called transient hypertrophy. Hypertrophy refers to the growth of a muscle, and transient means it's only temporary.
“You can lift lighter weights, and as long as you lift them with a high degree of effort, they're as good as heavier weights in making you bigger,” he says. Using a home gym machine or even just your own body weight, like with push-ups or lunges, works.
Muscle and Cardio
Noticeable changes (2-4 months): More noticeable changes typically occur within several months, including weight loss and muscle tone. Your genetics, muscle fiber makeup, and the quality of your workouts affect your strength if you are well-conditioned.
There are other terms for this, such as build mode, but bulking is a common term for this caloric surplus. Dirty bulking is when an individual is in a caloric surplus to build muscle (build mode). However, the individual is eating foods that are carb dense, unhealthy, and ultra-processed out of convenience.
Extreme exercise requires eating plenty of carbs. It is recommended athletes consume 60g/h of carbohydrates for prolonged exercise lasting more than two hours. White rice is considered a safe starch to consume prior to exercise, easy on the stomach, and has been shown to meet sports nutrition recommendations.
What is the fastest way to bulk? The fastest way to have a bulk body involves a combination of consuming a calorie surplus, prioritizing protein intake, engaging in compound lifts, getting sufficient rest, and gradually increasing weights and volume in your workouts.
Rest between set durations should be based on sets/exercise (volume), and not load or training goal. General recommendations include moderate (2 min) rest between sets if performing 2 sets/exercise, long rest (3 min) if performing 3 sets/exercise, and very long rest (> 4 min) if performing 4 sets or more/exercise.
Hormonal imbalances can lead to water retention, making your arms look inflated. Stagnation, or a lack of physical activity, can cause you to have extra weight in your arms as well as other areas. This is because you're not getting enough physical activity to tone your muscles.
This holds that regardless of whether you're trying to build muscle, strength, power, or endurance, performing three sets of 10 reps per exercise is a good place to start.
A great approach is the 40-30-5 method. It's simple. Use an interval timer and program a work duration (set length) of 40 seconds, a rest time of 30 seconds, and 5 intervals (sets).
Downtime between workouts (whether you're lifting, doing cardio or training for a sport) is when our bodies have a chance to actually build muscle. Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up.